This application is based on application No.Hei10-186207 filed in Japan, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a message display device, and more particularly, to a message display device in which the status of various devices, such as a printer, may be reflected in the contents of the display.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a local area network, peripheral devices such as personal computers and printers are connected to one another through a network. The printer performs printing based on print jobs that it receives from personal computers via the network. Such personal computers often have a function to display on the monitor necessary information when a user is having trouble with the operation (hereinafter xe2x80x98the help functionxe2x80x99). For example, where a problem has occurred with the printer, the user can learn how to eliminate the problem through a dialogue with the display screen using the help function.
However, the contents of the display provided through the help function have conventionally been pre-fixed, and do not reflect the status of the printer, i.e., the number of uses, for example. Therefore, the problem arises that since a number of possible causes of the problem with the device are displayed at the same time, the user cannot easily know which one to select.
The object of the present invention is to resolve the problem described above. More specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide a device that can select a message based on data. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device or a method that can perform message display that assists the user in solving the problem. A third object of the present invention is to provide a device or a method by which the status of the device may be reflected in the help message display. A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a device or a method that can display a help message in accordance with the information input by the user.
These and other objects are attained by means of a message display device comprising:
an input unit that receives input from the user;
a data generator that generates data;
a memory that stores multiple messages;
a display unit that displays the messages stored in the memory;
a selecting means that selects a message from among the multiple messages stored in the memory based on the input received by the input unit and the data generated by the data generator; and
a controller that causes the selected message to be displayed on the display unit.
The objects described above are also attained by means of a message display device described above, wherein the data generator generates data regarding the status of the printer.
The objects described above are also attained by means of the message display device described above, wherein said message display device has multiple data generator elements and, based on the data generated by the first data generator element, the selecting means determines whether or not to refer to the data generated by data generator elements other than the first data generator.
The objects described above are also attained by means of the message display device described above, wherein the data generator comprises at minimum a counter that counts the number of prints made and a sensor that detects the remaining amount of the toner in the printer.
The objects described above are also attained by means of the message display device described above, wherein the messages stored in the memory are help messages.
The invention itself, together with further objects and attendant advantages, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.